participation

Many of us have grown up in a musical tradition in which musician(s) perform
for an audience that listens. In Shona culture there is no audience in
the Western sense. Everyone present participates and is an integral part
of the event, either by singing, clapping, dancing or calling out encouragement.

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This is not to say the mbira players don't have
a central, highly regarded place in musical event. It is the mbira musicians
who provide a framework for group participation. The music they create
transforms a group of separate individuals into a participatory polyphonic
community.

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The active participation of those present makes demands of both the mbira
players and the other participants. The mbira players must play songs and
versions that will invite people to sing as well as dance. Participants
must be able to hear into the music to creatively interact with the mbira.
As David Locke puts it:

Creative, participatory listening is an essential
aspect of this music-
culture. Performer and audience must hear coherent melodies in the mbira's
numerous tones.

David Locke — Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples

hosho and clapping

Hosho is an integral part of mbira music. The sound of the
hosho is surprisingly big—Westerners are often a bit put off by
the prominence of the hosho sound compared with that of the mbiras—and
the hosho regulate the tempo and drive the beat for both mbira and singing.

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Hand clapping plays an important rhythmic role, along with
the hosho.

With a good clapper, the open palms can sound like two
wooden blocks being struck against each other. The sound can be so sharp
and piercing that it can be heard as far afield as four kilometres away
on a still night. Hand clapping is an aspect of percussion. There are
also many different styles of clapping. Clapping is also important in
regulating the tempo of the vocals and the Mbira. Bad clapping can ruin
good Mbira and on the same token, good clapping can redeem bad Mbira.

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singing

source: www.mbirajunction.com

Because we are so attracted to the sound of the mbira
instrument and music, it's easy to overlook that "mbira" is a melding of singing
and mbira—vocals and vocalization are an essential part of "mbira
music"

While it is easy to think of the mbiras as playing
the lead role in Shona music, it is often the case that the mbiras' role
is to provide a framework for vocalizing by the mbira players and participants.
The strong rhythmic pulse time from the hosho and the melodic and polyrhythmic
energy from the mbira support the songs vocals.

As mentioned on the singing page, mbira players and singers
often pick out melodic lines suggested by what they are playing and sing
them with vocables. With each mbira player picking out different lines
at different places in the song's cycle, and others clapping
different rhythms, also. This not only adds to the richness and complexity
of the sound, it allows all the community members to actively contribute
to the music, to the best of their ability, with some people dancing, singing,
and clapping in simpler ways, while others contribute more complex vocal
lines, rhythms, and dance steps. (See
the Singing page for more on mbira singing )